Jeremiah Whipple Jenks

“ The fact that there is a widespread belief that the ruling power in public affairs, as well as in social life, is public opinion, makes it desirable that the nature of public opinion itself—how it is constituted, who forms it, the way in which its influence is manifested, the ways in which it may be guided—be carefully studied. Perhaps in no other country in the world is so much emphasis laid upon public opinion as in the United States—not even in Switzerland. ”

“ In a society of hypocrites, would the fittest for survival be the most skilful deceiver? Or, even there, would the adage, "There must be honor among thieves," hold, when it came to permanent organization? But, whatever your answer, society fortunately is not made up of hypocrites or rascals of any kind. With all the weakness of human nature found in every society, the growing success of the rule of the people throughout the world proves that fundamentally men and women are honest and true. Generally common human nature is for the right. ”

“ Did they believe that they had done wrong, or merely that they had incurred a penalty? Does sin tend to make cowards of men? Were the feelings of shame, and the sense of estrangement in the presence of one who loved them, the most tragic effect of their sin? When a child disobeys a parent or a friend wrongs a friend is the sense of having injured a loved one the most painful consequence of sin? Was the penalty imposed on the man and woman the result of a divine judgment or the natural and inevitable effect of wrong-doing? ”

“ They need power and judicial capacity, not specific opinions. What matters it, in the long run, so far as the existence of the country is concerned, whether we have a free trade policy or a protective policy? It is but a matter of dollars and cents; it is but a matter, more or less, of the distribution of wealth in the country. But the question whether our citizens are to be thoughtful and unprejudiced in their opinions, affects vitally the form and spirit of our government. ”

“ How far do these stories, and especially the accounts of the covenant between Jehovah and Abraham, embody the national and spiritual aspirations of the race? Are the Abraham stories of practical inspiration to the present generation? What qualities in his character are essential to the all-around man of any age? How far would the Abraham of the prophetic stories succeed, were he living in America to-day? Would he be appreciated by a majority of our citizens? Are spiritual pioneers of the type of Abraham absolutely needed in every nation and generation if the human race is to progress? ”

“ The second great organ as well as guide of public opinion is the press. I have already intimated that our press is not independent; that it is not an influence that always tends toward good in the shaping of public opinion. Almost without exception, as has been said, our editors feel called upon to present questions of public interest from a partisan standpoint, giving facts and arguments on one side, suppressing facts and arguments on the other, instead of furnishing material on both sides by which the people will be encouraged to think out independently the issue of the day. ”

“ Brilliancy of intellect, however important in many fields of activity, counts for relatively little in home and social life, if not accompanied by graciousness of manner, kindness of heart, uprightness of character. It may sometimes seem that the brilliant rascal succeeds, that the unscrupulous business man becomes rich, and that the hypocrite prospers through his hypocrisy. If all society were made up of men of these low moral types, would such cases perhaps be more often found than now? ”

“ We have seen still further that it is perhaps one of the greatest misfortunes of our time and country that public opinion is so little a matter of judgment based on ripe consideration; and the present condition of affairs makes it evident that it is the duty of thoughtful men first to take the lead consciously and conscientiously on important questions of the day, as best they can; to use their influence in shaping public opinion, not by concealment of the facts but by open statement of the facts and fair argument so far as possible ”

“ Two hundred million of the world's inhabitants still bear the imprint of the fiery faith and fanaticism of Mahomet.
America is rich in its memories of the achievements of such as Washington, Lincoln, Morse, Beecher and Emerson. What characters in all history seem to you the best examples of real success? What men and women in the present generation? How can the great majority of the boys and girls and the men and women of to-day be led to accept those higher ideals of success which are the lodestones drawing on the race to higher achievement? ”

“ These circumstances—that our people with all their prejudices are so ready to take up ideas here and there; that they are omniverous newspaper readers; that they have so active minds with, on the whole, it must be said, so little exact information, and probably it is not too much to say also with so little soundness of judgment in determining what their views on public matters shall be—give an unusual chance for guiding public opinion in the right way, if any one will take the trouble deliberately to set about the work. ”

“ If he were needy and were received, he usually became a serf or slave. And yet this exclusiveness is the germ of our patriotism, a noble trait that may ultimately, but not soon, be replaced by a cosmopolitan love for humanity.
Allied to this is the personal bond, that obtains in the tribe, instead of the territorial unity of the modern state. A Frenchman is such because he is born in France; an Israelite is such because he is the son of Abraham and knows his people as his blood kinsmen. ”

“ In the United States, on the other hand, so far as political matters are concerned, we find that our politicians as a rule rather follow than lead public opinion. Our leaders apparently often wait and find it hard to determine which side of prominent questions they shall take until they are able to gauge which way the public is likely to act. Indeed at all times the politicians say that they deem it their duty to follow public opinion, and that their votes in Congress shall be guided by the wishes of their constituents. ”

“ The individual, in judging himself and his attitude toward society, feels that the law must be obeyed because obedience promotes the public welfare. Even when he believes that a law is unwise, or even unjust, he hesitates to violate it, not only because he might be punished therefor, but primarily because it has become wrong, according to his conscience, to violate a law that has been adopted by the representatives of his fellow citizens as just and beneficial. ”

“ It is probably not too much to say that not 25 per cent, of our adult voting population have deliberately made up an opinion on a public question after anything like a reasonably full and fair study of the facts in the case. Public opinion, then, seems to be a mixture of sense and nonsense, of sentiment, of prejudice, of more or less clearly defined feelings coming from influences of various kinds that have been brought to bear upon the citizens, these influences perhaps being mostly those of sentiment rather than those acting upon the judgment. ”

“ In many sections of our great cities the powerful ward boss, whatever be his methods, is regarded as the embodiment of success. Too often in America to-day, both in the public press and in the public mind, the multi-millionaire is regarded as the pre-eminently successful man. Although the power to amass wealth is evidence of marked ability, the homage paid to it is one of the most sinister tendencies in American life. Ordinarily it means that the ambitions and achievements of a Jacob, rather than those of a Joseph, are set before the youth as the supreme goal for which to strive. ”

“ The common dangers of the wilderness life tightened the racial and religious bonds that held them together. Only by the closest union could they resist the perils that beset them. Upon the complete devotion of each man to the interest of the tribe hung his fate, as well as that of the community as a whole. Hence arose that devotion to race, that readiness to avenge every wrong and to protect each individual, even if it cost the life-blood of the tribe, which is illustrated in many of the stories that come from this early period. ”

“ We shall never have a paper thoroughly independent in stating its views on public questions until we have a paper entirely independent of its circulation and advertising. Probably no greater service could be done to the country by any wealthy man or group of men than the liberal endowment of a paper with a sum so large that it would be a matter of indifference whether people subscribed or not. ”

“ Still later, with the development of a higher civilization and with the individual conscience stimulating men to care for the welfare not merely of their family, but of their nation, legislation considers primarily the welfare of society. Yet, as one of our great judges has lately explained, in practically all stages of society, whenever the population becomes numerous and business is so developed that we may recognize different classes in a community, legislation has been primarily in the interests of a ruling class, often at the expense of the other classes. ”